Paving the way for next-generation healthcare

On 19th June 2017, the Luxembourg biomedical landscape, its efforts and developments, was at the heart of the discussions in Brussels during the first health event co-organised by the Luxembourg Contact Office for Research & Innovation in Brussels (LUXCOR) and the LIH. Around 50 participants gathered around the table and addressed topics such as clinical and translational medicine, Big Data, eHealth and next-generation healthcare.

Luxembourg may be small, but in his presentation Dr Frank Glod of the FNR showed that all stakeholders work together to advance the Luxembourg biomedical and health research ecosystem. He emphasized its strengths in IT, infrastructure and data security, which position the country as a biomedical data hub as exemplified by the National Centre for Excellence in Research in Parkinson’s Disease. In addition to national collaborations, Dr Glod highlighted Luxembourg’s multiple connections on the EU and international health scene, reminding among other that IBBL is the Luxembourg coordinating institution of the European infrastructure for translational medicine (EATRIS).

Afterwards, two representatives from the Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT) and the Directorate General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) gave presentations on eHealth and personalised medicine respectively. The presentations were followed by a round table with the European Commission, LIH, the University of Luxembourg, Agence eSanté Luxembourg and the Luxembourg-based company ITTM. The Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg was represented by Marc Vandelaer, CEO ad interim.

Emphasis was put on cybersecurity and trust as well as on efficient cooperation with other European countries. It turned out that the EC knows Luxembourg for its outstanding assets (biobanking, neurodegenerative diseases, …) and sees the country as an ideal testbed for eHealth and personalised medicine. We now must bundle with other European countries and continue our road together towards next-generation healthcare.

LUXCOR, which is a joint venture between the six main Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) stakeholder organisations in Luxembourg – LIH, LISER, LIST, Luxinnovation, FNR and the University of Luxembourg – intends to organise a follow-up health event at the end of 2017, possibly in coordination with other Brussels Offices. The main missions of LUXCOR are to make Luxembourg better known as a centre of research and innovation, to help raise Luxembourg participation in EU RDI programmes, and to develop RDI links with partner organisations elsewhere in Europe.